Heather Winslow: Rewriting her story, one laugh at a time

A woman with short brown hair, fair skin, who is wearing glasses and a light colored blouse stands smiling with her hands in her pockets in front of a colorful graffiti wall. — Heather Winslow laughs at the IX Art Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. She is currently an interdisciplinary Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech. Photo courtesy of Heather Winslow.

The following story was written in Fall 2025 by Alyssa Trull in ENGL 4824: Science Writing as part of a collaboration between the Department of English and the Center for Communicating Science.

Laughter is often thought of as something lighthearted, even fleeting. But a Virginia Tech researcher has found that it can be a powerful step toward healing.

Heather Winslow, a fourth year student at Virginia Tech, is exploring how humor and storytelling can help people with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and other mental health ailments cope with, and possibly reduce, symptoms. Her work specifically centers around women with PTSD, including veterans.

In 2019, Winslow found herself staying at a domestic violence shelter with her two young children. After leaving her marriage, she saved up enough money to get an apartment in Charlottesville, VA. Then Winslow decided to finish her undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia. While attending, Winslow produced improv and standup comedy shows in Charlottesville and used the money to support herself and her family. In the shows, she based some of her jokes on the hardships she went through. She discovered that her humor had an impact on herself but also seemed to help others.

A woman with glasses, short brown hai,r who is wearing a dark blue dress, black leggings and sandals stands speaking into a microphone. In the background there is a black stool next to her, and a flag and various posters on the wall. — Heather Winslow performs stand-up comedy at the Tin Whistle in Charlottesville. Photo courtesy of Heather Winslow.

“After the shows, women would come up to me and tell me they thought they were the only ones who went through domestic violence, but hearing my jokes made them feel not alone in it. It was very healing for me," Winslow says.

For the past three years at Virginia Tech, Winslow’s connections with storytelling and comedy have opened up doors to help others use humor. She has used improv and storytelling exercises to help lead classes, and led workshops such as “Healing with Humor” and “Can Humor Be Taught?”

On the photo on the left there is an auditorium where a woman with black hair, a green shirt, black pants and glasses is sitting and laughing. In front of her is a person laying on the floor with another man with a dark blue shirt kneeling next to him looking and reaching out to the laying down man. On the photo on the right there is an auditorium there are four people sitting in chairs.There is a man with short hair, a dark blue shirt and glasses and across from him are the three women in their chairs all with their hands in their laps.One woman has a blue shirt, glasses and short red hair. The woman in the middle has a green shirt, glasses and black hair. The third woman has long black hair and is wearing a blue and pink shirt with a white peace sign on it. — Graduate students and faculty participate in one of Heather Winslow’s workshops, titled “Can Humor Be Taught? An Improvisational Workshop.” Photos courtesy of Heather Winslow.

These opportunities paved the way for her position as the graduate assistant for the Center for Communicating Science, where storytelling and improv are used as integral community connection resources, she says. She also served as a graduate research assistant for the Center for Sustainable Engagement in the Arctic, where she collaborated with Cana Itchuaqiyaq, the founder of the center and assistant professor of technical and scientific communication in the Department of English, to use improvisation for community connection.

After three years of courses in neuroscience, rhetoric and field methodologies, statistics, philosophy of the mind, and a creative writing practicum, she has laid the groundwork for her interdisciplinary Ph.D. proposal and is ready for the next steps of her journey.

Although her research is largely independent, she collaborates with a committee of English and neuroscience experts who guide her interdisciplinary research. This committee includes James Dubinsky, a veteran who specializes in writing and rhetoric in the Department of English, Patricia Raun, director of the Center for Communicating Science, Julia Basso in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, and Beau Lotto, a neuroscientist of perception from the University of London.

Winslow’s research focuses on integrating her creative and brain science interests to study how humor and storytelling can serve as a coping tool for communities who have experienced trauma. Another part of her research centers around the concept of “restorying,” a process that allows individuals to find new meaning in difficult experiences. Storytelling in communities promotes collective healing by helping people reinterpret and “rewrite” old memories, Winslow says, potentially reducing trauma and triggers.

Her primary research began in January 2026, with a case study at the Embodied Brain Lab under the supervision of Basso. The first part of the case study involved the participants using an electroencephalography (EEG) — a test that measures electrical activity in the brain — while completing various activities, including improvisational storytelling. A six-week humorous creative writing workshop with female veterans followed the case study.

An older woman wearing a red shirt sits writing with a EEG cap with many wires attached to it strapped on her head. — During pretesting, a case study participant wears an EEG cap while drafting her creative writing piece. Photo courtesy of Heather Winslow.

This interdisciplinary program has allowed her brain to stretch in various ways, Winslow says. Though it has been rewarding, it hasn’t always been easy.

“Learning to process EEG data is really interesting but can be challenging,” she says. “Balancing research, classes, and being a mom can be tough, especially as a distance learner.”

Winslow has close ties with her research, as she herself lives with PTSD. “It’s very invisible and people don’t realize it,” she emphasizes.

As a healing aid, humor and storytelling are cost-effective and non-controversial, important factors in research today, and Winslow hopes that her studies will provide the scientific data needed for the approaches to be taken seriously.

A women with short dark hair stand speaking in to a microphone in front of a room full of people sitting at long tables with food and drinks on them. — Heather Winslow (center back) hosts a comedy show fundraiser in January 2026. Proceeds from the show, which Winslow also produced, support participants in the case study. Photo by Landon Winslow and courtesy of Heather Winslow.

“Our planet needs a lot of healing right now,” Winslow states. “Humor helps us breathe a bit easier. It doesn’t erase trauma — it just helps us digest and move through it.”

Winslow’s future projects include working on a nonprofit she founded, “The Laughing Brain Initiative,” which aspires to create programs for organizations, communities, and schools to forge connections through laughter and storytelling. She hopes that these programs will act as a safe space for a cathartic release from hardships. She also plans to develop a course at Virginia Tech that meshes neuroscience with creative writing.